Tag: sand

Air Canada got my attention yesterday with some great deals on caribbean vacations.

I looked further and found that that the fine print excludes children in the discounts. Therefore these excellent deals are for couples, or friends, but not necessarily families or single parents.

The fine print of the deal

If you search the site, you’ll see numerous packages available from Toronto. If you find something you like, then go to the main search page of Air Canada Vacations and search the same dates with your origin airport of YWG (Winnipeg). You will likely see the same deal, mere dollars more with a Winnipeg – Toronto connecting flight.

Travel dates for this sale are May thru October, but must be purchased by March 27th. You may also get a further discount by redeeming some of your aeroplan points. (26,500 points equals a $250 discount.)

Sample deal

The best deal…. the one that really got my attention was Aruba. As low as $864 per adult. (Flights, hotel, transfers, taxes, breakfast). I would absolutely love to go to Aruba. And the following 3 hotels are either on or near Eagle Beach.

Tropicana hotel is well rated by Trip Advisor users who have been there

Eagle Beach in Aruba consistently makes the “best beaches” lists. It is known for its soft white sand.

The thing about travel photos is that they don’t tell the whole story. The true story gets muddled even further when those photos are prepped for Instagram. This isn’t a slam on Instagram, far from it. I think that global photos bring us a brighter more accurate picture of what the world has to offer. And it’s absolutely your choice to pick what you share with the world, and in what form

My point is this, are you tainting your own memories when you enhance or only share the perfect photos? I want to make my case by showing you a series of photos that I took at La Jolla Cove in San Diego, California.

I’m in love with this first photo. I think it’s spectacular. My money shot. But it doesn’t accurately reflect my experience.

This sweet baby was huddled in the centre of the pod. His eyes were open for mere seconds. Taken with my Canon 510s. This photo is completely unedited. I haven’t even cropped it, though I did consider cropping out the scar of the other seal in the right corner, however, I think it shows his age and life marks and they are an appropriate contrast to the seal pup.

Taking a step back, you see the whole pod of seals as they lay on the beach.

The photo was taken around 11am that day. Don’t they look peaceful and relaxed?

Let’s take one step further back. But still make sure the shot is tight and deliberately angled.

Here I am posing for a quick photo with my new friends. I love this picture. First time I’ve ever had the chance to pose with seals. (Unedited)

Same pod of seals, same beach, less than two minutes later than the above photos. Completely different picture of the experience, isn’t it?

This one is taken from 4 paces back and a different angle, purposefully to show the crowd of visitors assembled. The seals are notable unhappy after a few folks got too close. Hipstamatic lens used to show the mood.

This last photo is shown from the viewing platform at street level, about 5 minutes after the first photo (of the baby) was taken.

Quite the group isn’t it? On a Monday in January. Can you still see the seals in the centre?

My memory of this moment during the vacation, is of the big picture, the crowds and the whole perspective. However, I do still get lost in the moment of the baby seal and his soft eye when I look at it. An entirely different feeling about that day. And while I have already shared a couple of the seal photos on my Instagram feed, I have withheld the photos of the baby feeling that it was intimate and a real treasure, personal to my experience and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to share it with the world.

So, which picture is the “right” one to share? What view of the scene do you relate to? Which of these pictures is the true reflection?